Notre Dame football: 3 reasons the Irish will beat NC State in Week 2

Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame football are 2-0 on the season and the Irish are looking to pick up their biggest win thus far with a victory over NC State on the road.

It won’t be easy.

But I believe that Notre Dame has what it takes to win in Raleigh and be the first team in the nation to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Here’s why I think the Irish will beat NC State in Week 2.

3. NC State’s run defense will struggle to stop Notre Dame

In the season opener, NC State allowed 160 rushing yards to a UConn team that has actually yielded some solid talent in the backfield under Jim L. Mora. He just lost Nathan Carter to Michigan State this offseason and still found a way to reload.

But while UConn has good backs, they shouldn’t be averaging 6.2 yards per carry against a normally-solid defense like NC State’s. That’s unacceptable.

Well, things won’t get much better for this unit on Saturday.

Notre Dame has one of the best rushing attacks in the nation, led by Audric Estime who has over 200 rushing yards through two games. The Irish are averaging over 200 rushing yards per game and NC State gave up nearly 200 to UConn.

That’s a recipe for disaster if you’re the Wolfpack.

NC State’s run defense is really going to struggle against this Notre Dame rushing attack led by Estime, Jeremiyah Love, Gi’Bran Payne, and Jadarian Price.